


the night made calm

by halftimethickie



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Fluff, Gender-Neutral Apprentice, Other, Spoilers for Julian's route, im not kidding, julian doesnt live w the apprentice tho, like EXTREME fluff, portia and nadia are married, soft, they/them pronouns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-04-12 09:17:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19129075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halftimethickie/pseuds/halftimethickie
Summary: Julian and the Apprentice settle in for a nice evening together, but two visitors lighten it up even more with unexpected gifts.--A knock interrupted your thoughts. Closing the book after carefully sliding the bookmark in the page you had been mostly staring at, you set it down on the bed. Making your way to the door through all the clutter, you carefully peeked through the door.You saw the familiar black coat with hints of red covering crossed arms. In an instant, you knew who it was, and with a smile, you opened the door.“Julian,” you beamed. “aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.”





	the night made calm

**Author's Note:**

> ha HA so um
> 
> originally, this was supposed to be a smut fic but i radiated the essence of "fuck it" and made it fluff last minute bc i couldnt be bothered to write the teehee bonk bonk dont @ me
> 
> lucio fic is next! it'll def be smut, i assure you, don't worry my fellow goat fuckers!
> 
> okay, enjoy!! once again, apologies for any typos, i'll purge 'em if i find 'em

It was a normal evening, whatever normal was. You sat down on your bed with a content sigh, opening an old book that bore frayed edges. A red bookmark, now a dirty, faded merlot, held your place.

 

Asra had left just a few minutes before. He promised he would be back soon, gave you a wink, and went on whatever journey he would pursue. You had shaken your head with a frail grin, knowing he wouldn’t be back for a long while. Classic Asra—that was, quite simply, what he was. A mystery that went here and there, returning for brief intervals.

 

A knock interrupted your thoughts. Closing the book after carefully sliding the bookmark in the page you had been mostly staring at, you set it down on the bed. Making your way to the door through all the clutter, you carefully peeked through the door.

 

You saw the familiar black coat with hints of red covering crossed arms. In an instant, you knew who it was, and with a smile, you opened the door.

 

“Julian,” you beamed. “aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.” You saw—and simply  _ adored _ —the way his cheeks flushed at the compliment. Even the tips of his ears were bright red on that pale skin of his.

 

“Ah,” he murmured. “one could say the same for you, my darling,” He punctuated his sentence with a wink, even though his eyepatch covered that red eye—sclera, rather—of his. His embarrassment was washed away immediately once he tried to romance you, and you had to hand it to him—it most certainly worked.

 

“Come in, you must be freezing,” You stepped aside and welcomed him in. The tip of his nose was getting a little pink, thanks to the winter weather. Winter in Vesuvia was something beautiful, but something  _ utterly  _ cold. Julian seemed relieved to be inside the warm shop, and that made you happy. “You can make yourself comfy in the chair over there. I’ll make you something.” Julian nodded, taking off his coat and setting it on the arm of the chair. He settled in, a pleasant expression on his face. You smiled.

 

As you started making some tea, you decided to spark up some conversation to liven things up. You knew how boring the silence could be.

 

“So,” you began, pouring the scalding water into a teapot. “Anything new that I should know about? Any more adventures?”

 

“Well my dear,” Julian started, rambling on and on about another exciting tale. In this one, he was on a ship when suddenly, there was a—

 

“Agh!” You yelped, flinching, waving your hand. You had made the mistake of burning yourself. Julian immediately jumped up and rushed to your aid.

 

“Are you alright?” He asked, his hands on you in mere seconds. You winced and pointed to your hand, and he understood. “Mm, I see,” He sighed and looked around. “I’ll go get a rag, okay? You stay put.”

 

“No no, I’m fine, really,” you said. Julian was your guest, after all. You shouldn’t have made him worry like that. “Just sit down, I’ll take care of—” Before you could finish, Julian was off somewhere. You groaned, embarrassed. You felt guilty for making him get up instead of relax. If only…

 

“That wasn’t too hard to find,” you heard. Was he back so soon? Turning your head, you saw that Julian had a wet rag in his gloved hands, a soft grin on his face. Your name rolled off of his tongue as he shook his head. “Maybe I should make the tea and have  _ you  _ get cozy.” He winked.

 

“Oh my,” you sighed. “What _ ever  _ shall I do about you?” Julian chuckled and wrapped the rag around your hand. The cold was soothing, and you found yourself leaning back into Julian as you felt the pain go away just a little. His chest felt so soft, and you thought you might just fall asleep.

 

“Someone’s relaxed,” Julian chuckled. You huffed as he gave you a kiss on the crown of your head. A fuzzy feeling made itself known in your head as you grinned ear-to-ear.

 

Deciding the rag was now unnecessary, you took it and turned to Julian.

 

“Be a saint and stay put,” you said. “Maybe you can tell me a totally not fabricated story about your maritime days when I get back?” With a wink, you turned on your heel to put the rag back where Julian had found it. You suppressed your snickers as Julian squawked behind you, going beet red, almost as if he was sunburnt.

 

After returning the rag, you laid your eyes upon a still flustered Julian and grinned. You sat him down in a chair and began chatting idly with him. There were more stories told—mainly by Julian, but you didn’t care, for his voice was lovely—and you soon found yourself getting drowsy. Julian noticed this and grinned softly, wrapped his arms around you and resting his chin on your head.

 

“A certain magician is sleepy, I see,” He murmured into your hair. You nodded, but you weren’t sure if it was in affirmation or out of tiredness.

 

“Yeah, you could be a good pillow.” You grinned. Julian snickered and stood you up, but then immediately swept you off your feet. You were too tired to react and merely laughed at his dramatics.

 

“I’ll sleep with you, don’t worry,” Julian murmured. His face flushed immediately. “Uh, not like that. We can do that another time— or we can do it now, if you want, but—”

 

“Julian, honey, it’s  _ fine _ . I’m too tired, anyway, all I’d do is lay around, and we both know that’s no fun.” You said, shaking your head. “You can be so jittery sometimes. Just lay down next to me in my bed and we’ll both be relaxed in no time, okay?” You brushed a stray curly strand of hair out of his face as he grinned.

 

“Alright, thank you, my love..” He mumbled.

 

He carried you up to your room and nudged the door open with his hip, and upon setting you on the bed with grace, he flopped down next to you rather unceremoniously. The next second, he wrapped his arms around your midriff and snuggled in closer, his nose buried in the crook of your neck.

 

You ran your hand through his hair, feeling the random curls spring up here and there. You narrowly avoided tangles as to not hurt him, and if your fingers got caught for just a second, you paused and let go. You continued like that for a while, soothing him.

 

Then, there was a sudden knock at the shop’s door. Immediately irked that you had to be pulled away from such a peaceful moment, you sighed heavily and sat up, Julian rising with you. You muttered a string of curses as you hastily apologized to Julian. He smiled and understood, telling you not to worry. You got up and begrudgingly trudged towards the door, and with a final glance at him, you grinned and stepped out of the room.

 

Once you reached the shop’s door you opened it slowly, not wanting to let a potential stranger inside. You were incorrect with your assumption, however—there at the door stood Nadia, arms crossed, a distant look in her eyes. She snapped to attention when the door opened further, and a warm smile immediately graced her face.

 

“Hello,” She said, bowing her head. Your name rolled off of her tongue, sweet like honey, charming as ever. “Portia and I have come to give you and Julian some gifts. If he’s not here, then just keep it for the time being. We know how often he must stop by.”

 

“Really?” You asked, questioning several things at once. You then wondered where Portia was until she popped out from behind Nadia, waving her hands, grinning like a maniac. Nadia covered her mouth and giggled at Portia’s childish antics. They may have been the Countesses of Vesuvia, but that didn’t stop them from having a little bit of fun every now and then.

 

“Heya! Didja miss us?” Portia laughed, strolling in, Nadia following. You stepped aside and closed the door once they were both in, and it was then you noticed that Portia had two baskets that she was holding. She must have insisted on carrying them herself—that was just her independent nature at play. You, Portia, and Nadia sat down in the chairs that were a little ways away from the entrance, and in the middle of you three was a simple wooden table.

 

“Here, we first brought some spices and potential ingredients for you,” Nadia said, handing you one basket that was teetering between heavy and light. Opening the lid, a variety of aromas wafted through the air, adding new and old smells to the shop. You felt yourself smile warmly, gazing down at the gift.

 

“Thank you so much, Nadia, really, this wasn’t necessary…” You sighed, still grinning. Nadia waved her hand, also smiling.

 

“Nonsense,” She spoke. “You deserve it, all of it. After all, you proved a man innocent against his own word, defeated the Devil, and started getting Vesuvia back on the right track by influencing me with your selfless and heroic actions. What I mean is, you’ve done so much for all us, I couldn’t just sit by and give you nothing back in return. Of course, it will never pay up for all that you’ve done for Vesuvia.” 

 

“Nadia…” Tears welled up in your eyes as quickly as you wiped them away. Behind you, there was creaking, and you knew it was Julian coming down the stairs. Right—you had almost forgotten what you two were drifting off to sleep.

 

“Ilya!” Portia cried, beaming. She got up and ran over to him, enveloping him in a bone crushing hug. With a strangled laugh, Julian wrapped his arms around Portia as much as he could, but his arms were trapped, thanks to his sister. Thankfully, she let him go.

 

“Pasha, how nice of you to stop by. Oh, and Nadia, too! How have you been, Countess?” Julian grinned, bowing. Portia playfully slapped Julian on the head.

 

“Don’t forget, I’m the  _ other _ Countess, Ilya.” She pointed at him, a little threatening.

 

“My apologies,” Julian laughed, finding a seat next to you. His shoulders brushed against yours, and in response, you rested your hand on his thigh. He practically draped himself all over you, and it was quite obvious.

 

“Here, this is for you,” Portia said, setting the other basket on his lap. He opened it, and his jaw fell to the floor.

 

“Nevivon bath salts? Pens?  _ Feathered  _ pens? Oh my, and some wolfsbane… Oh Pasha, this is wonderful!” Julian cried, clapping his hands. Now he sat hunched over the basket, and not all over you. It was funny how fast his mood could change in just a few seconds.

 

“I must say, my dear, you do have a good idea of what your brother likes. He remains a mystery to me.” Nadia mumbled, planting a kiss on Portia’s cheek. Portia returned the gesture, smiling as she kissed Nadia.

 

“Yeah, too bad I couldn’t get him a second magician. He’d be going crazy.” Portia rolled her eyes as Julian squawked, and you thought that if there were two of you, there would  _ definitely  _ be more wild antics between you and Julian—or would it be you, Julian, and the other you?

 

“There doesn’t need to be two of them, one is all I need.” Julian huffed, crossing his arms. His eye shot open as he begun to stutter. “That—that wasn’t supposed to sound as rude as it did, my apologies—”

 

“It’s alright, you’re tired. Give yourself a break for once,” You sighed, kissing his cheek. He smiled a little and loosened up.

 

“Oh, all right. But anyway—” Julian cleared his throat. “I thank the both of you very much. I really do appreciate it.” He grinned and opened his arms for one last hug, and Portia willingly squeezed him to death yet again. Once she got off of her victim, she turned to you and gave you an equally tight hug.

 

“Have a good rest of your night, you two! Don’t get into any trouble, ya hear? I’m looking right at _you_ , Ilya!” Portia winked, grinning mischievously. Julian barked out a laugh and Nadia stood up, intertwining her fingers with Portia’s.

 

“Yes, I wish the both of you a good night. I must agree with Portia—no roughhousing, you two, I know what you’re capable of.” Nadia winked just like Portia had—had the two always been that teasing? Before you could figure that out, the two Countesses left the shop, almost as if they had never been there in the first place. That left you and Julian to your own devices.

 

“Ju—” You started, but suddenly, you were cut off with a kiss to the lips. You sighed and smiled into it. Julian pulled back and chuckled.

 

“Sorry for interrupting, you just looked too cute. You’re adorable when you’re sleepy, did you know that?” He picked you up once again and made the rather short venture to your bed with ease. He laid you down, and this time, he settled in next to you instead of dropping down by your side. He held you close and murmured affectionate words into your ear as you drifted off to sleep.

 

“I love you, gorgeous, so bright and so sweet,” He mumbled, lips close to your ear. You sighed with a grin, and on the verge of dozing off, you mumbled,

 

“I love you, Jules...”

 

It took him a moment, but he knew you were falling asleep fast. With an affectionate sigh, he ran his fingers across your shoulder as he murmured,

 

“I love you too, my darling.”

**Author's Note:**

> wow u made it through?? ok wow uh
> 
> yea basically 'm doin a lucio fic next, but the plot's all switched n stuff but i'll cross that bridge when i get to it
> 
> have a good day u good noodles


End file.
